Counting my blessings

I believe an important part of being happy is counting your blessings everyday. 5 years ago, we met someone who gave us an amazing blessing: our son Sam.

Last weekend, Sam's birthmom, Tiffany was in town and we got to have dinner and hang out for a while. I wish we'd had more time together but distance makes it hard to see each other more often. She is an amazingly courageous person that I pray that Sam will know his whole life.I hope Sam is finally at an age that he is remembering how much she loves spending time with him. It's written all over their faces, isn't it? Another amazing person I've been thinking of a lot lately is Max's birthmom, Jordan. Distance makes it hard for us to get together but there's never a doubt that she loves this little man. I just did a layout with a picture of them from April.
Max has her smile. When he greets me in the morning, I think of Jordan and thank God for her and this wonderful gift she gave us. And who couldn't love a face like this???I'm so happy to share my blessings with those who read my blog. Please, make sure you count your blessings too. There are so many!
Cheers,
Christy

Sequoia trip

Sometimes, people wonder why we live in Southern California. My answer: Why not? Ok, we certainly miss our family on the East Coast and in the Mid-West and every other corner of the USA but... we have a good life here. And honestly, California is an amazing state! I'm quite smitten with this lovely place and I'm not sure we could discover it all in a lifetime. But Brentt and I are going to try. (And our 3 lucky kids get to be drug along... whether they like it or not! :) ).

A couple of weeks ago we went camping in Sequoia, about 320 miles from home. If we were traveling in the mid-West, we'd have seen cornfields the whole trip. Not in California! The diversity is amazing!

We started here, inland San Diego:I took all the road pictures of the drive from the front seat, moving at least 60 mph. Forgot to take pictures of the ocean going up I-5 though.
Through LA . Yuck.Up over the Tejon Ranch and into the Grapevine.Did you know there are oil wells here? Thousands of them!
Climbing...to get to Quaking Aspen campground to camp with our friends.Bug hunts are always a necessary part of a camp trip for Maddie and Sam.Dome rock was a nice place to explore. I was really happy we didn't lose any of the kids over the edge! It looks like we're climbing the moon.Max really loves riding in the backpack. Good thing too!
But my favorite place we saw up there was the Trail of 100 Giants. There are trees over 200 feet high and over 1500 years old!It is hard to get perspective on how big these trees are. This should help. See the red speck in the photo below? That is Max. Here are Brentt and Sam climbing on the roots of a felled tree.
We really had a great time here, with our friends, and making memories for all of us. I highly recommend it and hope to return next Summer.

Thanks for checking in!
Cheers,
Christy

Friday! Friday! Friday!

How did it get to be Friday already? Are we really in August? We survived a week of Vacation Bible School and I thought I would have more free time. Ha! Right. I feel like I am some sort of fast-forward time warp. Our littlest man, Max, is growing so quickly that I just wanted to share a few pictures of him from our play time this week.As soon as he sees the camera, he starts crawling toward me so it takes more skill to actually get his photo. He is drawn to electronics--such a boy!
Also, Brentt finished part of our "remodel." He put up a wall in between the playroom and the living room. In the playroom side, the kids now have a giant chalkboard. They love to play school (which has been great for me to sneak in some Summer learning! ;) )And color themselves so we have our very own "Blue Man Group." Ha! They are so funny!We have a busy weekend. One going-away party for some dear friends, a VBS celebration Sunday and then off to the race track. Yay! Have a great weekend!
Christy

My 3 Epiphanies

Finally... here are a few crafts and layouts. I decided I would never be able to catch up on all that I want to do right now. My first great epiphany came when I decided that it was ok if I never caught up. I'd rather make the memories this Summer than document them. Maybe when the kids are back in school I'll get more time for myself but for now, I am just trying to make sure I get 15 minutes every day. In my 15 minutes, I am quite surprised how much I can get done.

First, here is a frame that I made from the sea shells I collected on Brentt and my get away to Florida in May. I love the pearl additions but best of all, I love that my favorite vacation photo fit in it.

My second epiphany was that I do not have to scrapbook every favorite photo. When Max was 6 months old I did a photo shoot of him and loved so many. My solution was that I picked one favorite and made a great layout. In the album, I have a sheet protector that holds 6 of my other favorites. This way, I still scrap the moment but don't feel pressured to scrap the other photos or (gasp!) leave them out of the book.
I usually hide my journaling because I don't like my writing. Here is what it looks like in the album.And... I did get some time to catch up on some older pics too. My 3rd epiphany came out of doing these: Not every lay out needs to be some artful masterpiece!


So, thanks for checking in and reading my rants. Make it a great day!
Christy

New Inspiration

If you have a single, creative bone in your body, you will LOVE this website I found called "Make It and Love It." (click on it) I feel like I just hit the jackpot of inspiration! It is run by a couple of busy, incredibly talented, Moms who are so generous to share their gift.

You absolutely must check out their Tutorials section. They give great detailed instructions on how to make everything from a sippy-cup leash to glass etchings to all sorts of home decor and sewing projects. Now, you'll know where I'll be in my spare time. ;)

Cheers,
Christy